Residents upset about path closing in Cedarcroft

Fri, 08/13/2010 - 10:10amJohn Munford

The blocking off of a dirt cart path in the Cedarcroft subdivision has several Peachtree City residents upset.

Several people have contacted The Citizen in the past few weeks complaining that the path should be reopened as it provided a more direct route from Cedarcroft to the nearby cart path bridge that crosses Ga. Highway 74 north. Currently it is blocked off with posts dug into the ground.

Path users now have to loop around on a path between Cedarcroft and Centennial to reach MacDuff Parkway to get to the bridge.

Community Development Director David Rast said the path, which was never paved, was temporary and the city never got an easement for the path.

That means Ravin Homes still owns the property and the city doesn’t have a recorded permission for the path to be used by residents.

Since the final phase of Cedarcroft is now under construction, developer Ravin Homes blocked off the dirt path so cart users would not be crossing private property, Rast explained.

Another section of cart path that goes between a number of homes in the first phase of Cedarcroft remains open. That path has been the subject of some controversy as residents last year complained of speeding golf carts, some of which were blaring music, and other issues due to the large volume of cart traffic.

And because that path is between Cedarcroft and the 24-hour Walmart store, there were carts running on it at all hours of the night, neighbors complained.
The City Council has turned down requests from adjacent homeowners to remove that path.

When you use the bridge over 74 and then want to go to any of the shops around WalMart/Home Depot, going through Cedarcroft gives you fairly direct access to the shopping area. Now, without the access to the newer section of Cedarcroft, you are forced to cross MacDuff Pkwy TWICE, and one of those crossing is just in the middle of the road with no stop sign or traffic break. In my opinion it is a safety issue. I hate crossing streets in my golf cart, and MacDuff can get really busy at times. I have seen some close calls between golf carts and cars on MacDuff.

I am under the impression that Cedarcroft would like to remove all golf cart paths from the neighborhood, if it was a possibility! I think that mindset is not at all in keeping with the community spirit of PTC. I understand that there are some golf cart drivers who are rude & inconsiderate, and it is true that the cart paths were built WAAAAYYY too close to the houses in Cedarcroft, but Cedarcroft needs to figure out a way to make the cart paths work in the neighborhood.